Epilogue
by bidadieu
Summary: Jin and Fuu sit down to explain their decisions, reasons and feelings after 27 years. A/N: Not a pairing.
1. Part One

_**Samurai Champloo **_**(c) ****Shinichirō Watanabe**

**A/N: **This will be a short story.

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><p><strong>Epilogue. <strong>_**Part One**_

In that moment, silence took over the world and her heart pounded in her chest. There was a moment of hesitation, but she knew. Dropping the bucket of water she ran to him, her arms spread out reaching for an embrace.

He didn't hesitate. His own arms spread, receiving hers.

"It's been a long time Fuu," the tall man said, adjusting his glasses just so. Fuu stepped away from the embrace and studied Jin's face, his body... a flash of sadness flushed over her. Drooped shoulders, tired eyes… he was withered.

Then she noticed the light scar on his lip. She raised her hand to touch it, half expecting for Jin to move or slap her hand away. He didn't.

"What happened?" she asked softly.

Jin shook his head, "Life," he gave her a small smile, "sooner or later I would end up with scars right?"

It was an attempt at a joke, Fuu knew, but she couldn't manage more than a nervous giggle.

"Do you want to come in?" she asked him instead, "I just finished cooking lunch; I don't think my son will be coming home until late at night."

"Son…hmm..." Jin said, more question than comment.

"Like you said… Life." Fuu smiled. She ushered him into her home and sat him down.

Jin was a bit surprised at the home, it was quite big, but small enough to be cozy. "Nice place." He settled down, slouching a bit as he sat.

Fuu was serving him tea when he had asked suddenly, "If you don't mind me asking, your husband?" She stopped, her smile disappearing for a split second.

He saw it though, "you don't have to say anything."

She served him rice and good chunks of meat, "it's alright," she sighed, sitting across from Jin. "He died two years ago from a disease…but it was bound to happen. My husband was already old and there wasn't much that we could do."

"I see..." Jin replied, not saying anything much. There was a silence between the two of them; it was neither awkward nor comfortable. Fuu just enjoyed staring at him; it's been too long… far too long. When the three of them have split up that fateful day, it was like a family going different ways. In some way, she missed the silent wisdom that Jin embodied. Seeing Jin again after twenty seven years made her want to see Mugen too.

So she asked, "Do you know where Mugen is?" the question was innocent enough, but when Jin looked at her, she already knew.

Jin saw that Fuu understood so instead he said, "Did you really expect him to live past thirty?"


	2. Part Two

_**Samurai Champloo**_** (c) ****Shinichirō Watanabe**

**A/N: **This will be a short story.

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><p><strong>Epilogue. <strong>_**Part Two**_

Fuu couldn't help but give a small sad smile. Her younger self might have stood up, knocking over the tea and crashing the plates. She might even have yelled at Jin, telling him that he was lying. What didn't change were the tears that pooled in her eyes. Losing someone was always hard.

"How are you dealing with it?" Fuu asked, wiping her tears away.

Jin took a sip of tea, "I'm alright…but I didn't expect you to take the news so well." Carefully choosing his words, he continued, "I always thought you had a deeper bond with him."

"Not at all," Fuu replied without hesitation. "I've always considered the two of you as equals." She poured him more tea.

"That doesn't really fill in the gaps," Jin stared at her, testing if she knew what he was talking about.

All their time together, and possibly because of their age, both have developed a silent communication. A slight tilt of the head was a whole conversation… it was just a matter of reading the atmosphere.

So Fuu knew. Years back she was asked by a blind woman to choose either Mugen or Jin, leaving the other with her. Fuu had chosen Jin to go with the woman, and now, after all this years, he wants to know why.

"I'm not too sure myself," she answered him honestly. "I guess…I just thought it would be easier for you to bounce back than Mugen…but I know better now," she sighed heavily. "All three of us were a wreck without each other."

Jin didn't say anything, so she continued, "I was crushed that I made the decision, you know? I should have just shoved her and said told her no way. There really was no other than the three of us. _Why _did we all go different ways?"

Again, Jin didn't say anything, but he knew why. The three of them have been alone all their lives, alone in a sense that they had no one to depend on but themselves. For the three to be together, they needed a goal to have staying together make sense. But once that goal was gone, it seemed like there was no real reason to be together.

He had felt odd when they parted ways. Like this wasn't supposed to happen, or that they didn't understand that they needed each other…so rather than talking about their feelings… parting ways was seen as a better solution.

Fuu thought that she had understood as well, she just didn't want to admit that they all left because of such a simple misunderstanding.

"It's a little sad though," Jin suddenly said, "We only meet when one of us reached our end."

The room was silent again. Even then it was always like this. The nights that the three spent together was always in awkward silence, but something about it was comforting. It didn't feel so alone.

"You know what's interesting?" Jin broke the silence, "I didn't even plan on seeing you here."

"I think it's good to know, that our roads always lead to one place." Fuu said, she was a little hesitant, but she had to know, "So how did he pass?"

Jin chuckled, shifting his weight to his other leg. "It's a funny story,"

Fuu braced herself, ready to fill a twenty seven year gap of loneliness.


	3. Part Three

_**Samurai Champloo**_**(c)****Shinichirō Watanabe**

**A/N:**This will be a short story.

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><p><em><strong>Epilogue. Part Three<strong>_

Mugen had always been a vagrant. Yes, he may have been born into a family, but that was never his place. The closest to a family he would ever associate with was _those two_.

Never did it _feel _wrong to be around them. Mugen had thought then. Even at the very beginning, he somehow knew that there was going to be some sort of connection between the three of them. So when their paths separated that faithful day, something gnawed at him.

_Turn back. _He had screamed in his thoughts after a good mile. _Turn back or you'll regret it forever. _

So he did, stopping in his tracks, Mugen took a deep breath and spun back. He had never ran so fast, he could feel the pain shoot up his calf every time his foot connected with the ground. He ran even faster when he saw the clearing where they had parted.

Mugen felt a grin creep up on his face, "It's not over yet!" He shouted, stepping into the clearing. The grin disappeared from his face slowly.

He stood alone, taking large gulps of air. Something pained in him, he had never felt so disappointed, embarrassed, and betrayed. Was it going to end this quickly? He craved for their affections, for their companionship, even if it was to chastise him.

Their names were stuck at his throat, only to be released as a collected and repressed sob.

He tried lived his life as he always did.

Mugen still looked behind his shoulder at times, hoping that someone would look back. But it was always a crowd of strangers.

He had since lost an arm the last time he, Jin, and Fuu had seen each other.

It was a slip of judgment on his part, not really paying attention when a blade swung down. He had thought he saw Fuu among the crowd during the execution. For a moment, he felt a terrible twisting in his gut…after all, his adventures with those two started out with an execution. Deep down he wanted it to happen again.

_Fuu_, _save us, _he remembers thinking.

He looked to his right, a grin plastered on his face. "We can take—" he stopped, realizing that he was alone this time.. Jin wasn't there, he looked to the crowd…neither was Fuu.

It had become a habit of his, sometimes his eye would catch the color of pink on a cloth. Or a tall man with glasses. But it was never them.

The executioner's sword swung down, and Mugen moved too late, the sword taking his arm.

With the adrenaline coursing through his body, he didn't notice until he had escaped from the officials. In an alley way, just behind a tea house, he sat bleeding heavily and close to death. It had always been against his character to accept death as easily as this, but he suddenly felt tired. Mugen closed his eyes and accepted that this was his end.

Never had he felt so alone before. But if Fuu and Jin could let go, so can I. He had thought.

And let go he did.

But then…

"Mugen," It was unmistakable. Mugen's eyes snapped open, the voice was too familiar, it was impossible to _not _know who it was. He chuckled weakly, his throat felt dry and his body heavy.

"Well, what the fucking hell. What took you so long?" Mugen grinned, "Ah, fuck you Jin."


	4. Part Four

_**Samurai Champloo**_**(c)****Shinichirō Watanabe**

**A/N:**This will be a short story. Also, the ending is coming soon!

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><p><strong>Epilogue. <strong>_**Part Four**_

_Stop. I change my mind. _The younger Fuu begged in her mind. _ I don't want to know_. She felt like a child listening to Jin's story.

It terrified her, but at the same time, she knew it was always going to end up like this.

She poured Jin another cup of tea and held unto her feelings of sadness, letting Jin continue his story. Fuu realized she was crying so much that Jin stopped and looked at her with worry.

"Maybe," she sniffed, "you should lie to me. Maybe, you shouldn't tell me." Her voice was barely a whisper.

Jin regarded her, and shook his head, "You never would forgive me." And she knew in her heart that was true.

"I looked back and watched your backs leave…" Fuu admitted, "no one looked back, so I thought that was it."

She rubbed her swollen eyes, "I was going to call out, but I thought that was selfish."

Fuu remembered that day they all parted ways. Though their initial goal was complete, it felt odd to separate. She turned around after a few minutes and saw Jin and Mugen walk confidently away from her. She very much so wanted to scream for them to come back. There was so much more for them to do, so much more to experience… but she was scared they would not feel the same way.

But it seemed they didn't feel the same way. Had she monopolized them? She always thought. If she really did call out for them to come back, would she be taking away someone else's adventure?

She knew now that she wasn't going to, because Mugen and Jin were not meant for anyone else but her. And she was not meant for anyone else but them. It _was _selfish thought, but she just _knew _it was the right path.

A silence hung between them and the sounds of the market close by started to fade into the buzz of cicadas. The sky darkened, and Fuu lit a lamp, illuminating their faces in a warm orange glow.

"What happened to you?" Fuu asked, a finger gently touching the lightened scar.

Jin adjusted his glasses, "Mugen didn't want to go without leaving me a gift."

Fuu felt a certain comfort in knowing that even after years, Mugen and Jin would always pick up where they left off.

"We met at a crossroad," Jin chuckled, "and immediately we drew our swords at each other."

"How was he then?" Fuu asked, listening intently.

"His hair grew… he's stronger and faster." Jin was smiling at the distant memory. "When he cut me, he stopped and greeted me like nothing has changed."

_But nothing _has_ changed…_Fuu insisted. _We've just aged._

"That was the first time I saw him in years," Jin said, taking a sip of his tea. "The last time I saw him…" he trailed and looked at Fuu in an expression she has never seen before. _Despair_. She noted.

"I'm listening." Fuu assured him.


	5. Part Five

_**Samurai Champloo**_**(c)****Shinichirō Watanabe**

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><p><strong>Epilogue. <strong>_**Part Five**_

Jin had heard of an execution going on, though he wasn't surprise that the prisoner was Mugen, he was surprised to see Mugen bleeding and beaten on the side of the alley way.

"Mugen," Jin called out, he saw Mugen's eyes snap open.

"Well, what the fucking hell. What took you so long?" Mugen grinned, "Ah, fuck you Jin."

"Why can't I get rid of you?" Jin asked, with a small smile.

"_A dream_." Mugen said, "Am I dead? Are _you _dead?"

"Sure," Jin replied in his calm and sarcastic manner, helping Mugen to sit up. "You lost a lot of blood."

"That was fun," Mugen laughed, his breaths shallow. "I would prefer it if Fuu was here to help though,"

Jin nodded in agreement, feeling more worry for his friend, "Same."

"I'm fucking tired." Mugen patted the ground next to him, Jin didn't even hesitate and plopped himself down next to Mugen. After a peaceful silence, he asked, "What happens when you die?"

There was a flicker of surprise on Jin's face, "I don't know. I don't like thinking about it knowing how much we've killed."

Mugen nodded, "Well, I'm tired."

"Me too," Jin replied, "Old age has weakened our stamina…"

"Maybe for you," Mugen said, laughing. "But I don't think you get it," he stared at Jin, his eyes unblinking and serious. "I'm _tired_. I don't want to do this anymore."

Jin stood up and nodded his head, "I understand."

"Thanks…" Mugen said, "And do it with this," he gave Jin his sword, it was surprisingly light. "Don't forget to tell Fuu."

"Of course," Jin said softly.

"Oh, and that's a nice scar." Mugen grinned, the widest grin Jin has ever seen on him.

"Thanks," Jin said, grinning back as he raised the sword high above Mugen's head. "Goodbye."

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><p>Fuu remembered what Jin had told her before he took his leave, "Our paths would always lead to <em>you<em> Fuu, _always_."

He was right of course.

Fuu stared at the two erected tombstones. Tracing a finger over the engraved names of her old friends, she sighed heavily. She knew she would join them soon.

Years after her talk with Jin, she learned about his passing somewhere near the mountains. Like Mugen, she knew that Jin would have died by his own sword, and by his own tiredness.

Again, she was left behind, left to mourn and left to pick up the pieces of her two friends.

But everything seemed to be in place.

_**Epilogue. **_**End**


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